The invention of this application relates to gasketing for high performance racing engines. High output, high performance automobile engines, such as those used for racing, present the gasket and sealing engineer with severe operating conditions which are exceedingly difficult to contend with. Standard passenger car laminated gaskets, used in a conventional manner, do not stand up to such service conditions and result in blow-out and leakage when cylinder pressures overcome the clamping force of the head bolts or studs. When that happens, the head tends to lift away from the block, unloading the gasket, and providing a leakage path for liquids and gases. Further, if the lifting force is great enough, the combustion seal may be lifted out of position or may otherwise be forced out of position, resulting in engine failure.
A variety of mechanisms have been employed to seek to overcome such problems.
For example, high output racing engine builders for years have used a solid copper gasket and stainless steel wire rings placed in adjacent grooves in the cylinder head and in the block around the cylinders. This is very durable from a combustion seal standpoint, but the sealing of coolants is very difficult and requires multiple, separate auxiliary seals for that purpose.
Other engine builders have used an additional wire ring around the cylinder in the block that contacts the gasket body, adjacent to an associated armor having a wire ring. This design is undesirable because the clamping force intended for effecting the combustion seal is then divided between two wires instead of the one in the gasket as designed by the manufacturer.
Still other engine builders have used conventional passenger car gaskets and either installed a wire ring that contacts the gasket on a horizontal or upper surface of the armor, or adjacent to the armor. The problem with this is that when such a wire is positioned on the armor and is loaded, the armor tends to split due to high stress levels. When such a wire is positioned adjacent to the armor, it divides the clamping forces, or causes loading on the gasket body itself to be insufficient to seal effectively in the main body of the gasket, such as around the coolant and oil holes, or both. Further, loose wire rings are subject to pull-in and blow out in use, each of which can result in engine failure.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved sealing mechanism for high performance engines and which includes an integrated gasket having an armor and wire which may be installed as a single unit, and without the need for utilizing separate or auxiliary sealing elements. The sealing assembly of the present invention provides effective sealing and resists both blow-out and pull-in of the wire ring in operation of the sealed engine assembly.